


Moving Forward

by paintedbutton



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: F/M, First Kiss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-23
Updated: 2016-02-23
Packaged: 2018-05-22 21:04:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6093979
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paintedbutton/pseuds/paintedbutton
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kate and Danse figure themselves out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Moving Forward

**Author's Note:**

> This is vaguely silly in terms of romance but so are the in-game flirt options.

It was hard to find even a moment to breathe after the revelation of Danse’s true nature. With Maxson ordering her in no uncertain terms to eliminate ‘that thing’ and the subsequent scramble after the missing Paladin Kate had had more than enough anxiety rushing through her. Had giving her the kill order been a test of loyalty? She’d certainly failed that before even starting. In the face of Maxson’s anger Kate didn’t even want to think about what would have happened if he hadn’t backed down. She knew on who’s side she would have stood but Danse might not have agreed. She was familiar with loyalty in spite of everything. It hadn’t come to pass, of course, she was evidently enough of an asset to warrant being listened to. Even before being sent on a manhunt she’d been questioning her support of Maxson’s mission. Now, the consequences were clear. Kate had returned to the Prydwen long enough to announce her resignation. There was such a thing as a last straw and she had other people to count on. If Maxson wanted her shot on sight as well, he was more than welcome to give the order. She somehow doubted he would.

She returned for Danse shortly after, making sure that this time nobody followed her. Wherever he’d found the Power Armor he was wearing now, the sight of him in it eased something in her chest. He’d been too vulnerable when they’d last spoken, donning armor alleviated at least some of that image. She had only just offered picking up where they left off when the transmission from the Castle about an imminent attack came in. After that, everything had been a rush. They reached the Castle not even an hour before the Institute synths. Ordering the whole structure into lockdown was the best Kate could do at that point. It didn’t help against the teleporting but it did slow the rest of the forces they were facing down. Thank God she had outfitted the Castle with a proper set of defenses. When Preston announced afterwards that Sturges had found them a way into the Institute, they started the trek back to Sanctuary almost immediately. What little rest they afforded themselves was to pick up her Power Armor at Red Rocket before heading out again. It was all too much all to sudden for even her to keep up appearances but she tried her damnedest. That night, Danse quietly confessed to his reeling mind. Kate wished she knew what to say. She usually had a way with words but he’d had everything he knew ripped away from him. She couldn’t fix this. Instead she took his hand between hers, a silent show of support.

“What you’ve been through it’d be a lot for anyone to wrap their head around. Just … give yourself some time.” He laced their fingers together, not looking at her. She stayed where she was. If this was all she could offer in the moment … It wasn’t enough, but she hoped it was at least something.

 

It didn’t matter how well Kate held herself together, finding Shaun on his death bed hit her with unexpected force. They hadn’t seen eye to eye but this was her son … her baby she never got to see grow up now old and frail and looking at her with hatred and sadness in his eyes. She blinked away the tears. This was bigger than one moment, she couldn’t let this overwhelm her. That he gave her the overwrite code didn’t make turning her back any easier.

It was impossible for everyone in the Institute to have gotten to safety by the time Sturges teleported them onto the rooftop. Sounding the evacuation order must have helped, but she couldn’t possibly imagine it was enough. Pushing that button and watching everything go up in smoke … it made her feel numb. Too much all at once on the shoulders of one person not big enough for it all. She’d just changed a world she still didn’t know how to be a proper part of. She’d destroyed something that could have helped the Commonwealth in immeasurable ways if only they hadn’t … if only. But the Institute had never been willing to better life up here, they’d made that much clear. Still … It was too much like a memory she’d never wished to revisit again. The hiss of disengaging power armor made her straighten, trying to hold herself together. Danse’s hand on her shoulder drained that tension so quickly it left her dizzy. In that moment he didn’t say a word. Beyond them lay a smoking crater.

They made the trek back to the Castle with a group of tired but triumphant Minutemen. Next to her Preston walked tall and easy, quietly satisfied that what they’d done was for the better. Kate wasn’t so sure just yet. It was hard to shake the image of the world going up in flames from her mind. Danse’s looming form was a solid presence at her other side, calming her racing heart if not her mind. He’d congratulated her, up on that rooftop, for securing the future of the Commonwealth. The truth was she never would have made it this far without him or the others. A lawyer out of time, desperate, lonely and hurting didn’t make for a good hero. She was a different person now but she’d have been dead in a ditch somewhere if not for the people willing to lend a hand (and a favorite laser rifle). Facing the world was a lot easier with people you could depend on at your side. It was the knowledge you didn’t have to solve every problem by yourself. There was one more issue waiting for her at the Castle. The son that wasn’t hers, the Shaun that had been dangled in front of her like a carrot on a stick. She couldn’t have left him to die, never, but she wasn’t sure what to do about him either. It wasn’t a problem she was ready to face just yet.

The sky was starting to turn pink when they found the Castle looming in front of them. Her bones ached in her body, eyes dry and itching. What she needed was a few hours of sleep, of forgetting everything they’d just been through. Still, she steeled her shoulders, gathered the strength for one more speech. The people waiting for them deserved an announcement of victory. It was expected and she’d never been good at defying expectations. After that, her bed was the only thing on her mind. The sleep she fell into was instantaneous and dreamless, despite everything.

 

Kate sat up on the crumbling battlements of the Castle staring out at the sea when Danse joined her the next day. The clothes he was wearing were obviously loaned from a Minuteman of similar build and he didn’t look half as comfortable in them as in his usual uniform. She suspected that shedding his identity as Paladin would be much harder for him than his identity as human.

“You seemed … withdrawn this morning.” His hesitation almost made her smile. “Garvey said you spoke to that – to your son. Are you …?” Kate sighed, turning the holotape she was holding over in her hands. She had spoken to him, yes. He thought she was his mother. Could she be?

“He gave me this. It’s from Shaun, the real one. He wants me to … I don’t know. Raise him, I think. Help him be a part of ‘whatever future awaits the Commonwealth’.”

“Will you?”

“I don’t know. Doesn’t he deserve a chance?”

“I don’t feel qualified to answer that anymore, Kate.” The way his shoulders hunched down made more than clear that he wasn’t just thinking of the synth child in the courtyard. Condemning Shaun would be condemning himself, wouldn’t it? Unthinking, she leaned against his shoulder, closing her eyes with a sigh. She wasn’t sure which of them she was trying to give comfort to.

“He does,” she murmured after a moment of silence, “Maybe I do, too.” A chance to get back a little of what she’d lost. Much of it she didn’t even want back but her baby … The breeze carried the smell of salt around them. Kate breathed it in. Under her cheek, Danse’s body was motionless for a long time.

“There was … something I wished to discuss with you. Something personal.”

“You know I’m always willing to listen.”

“Yes, that’s what I … Kate, what happened, it made me think. About everything that I’ve lost … and everything I’ve gained. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you. Whatever it is, friendship or … I can’t deny that I’m feeling closer to you than anyone else I’ve ever met. I wanted to thank you.” His words had made her grow very, very still. _This isn’t what you think it is_ , she told herself, but it did nothing to slow her racing heart. The way he’d hesitated after the word friendship was enough. She forced herself not to move but opened her eyes, glancing up at what little of his face she could see in this position.

“You don’t have to thank me. And I feel the same way.” She didn’t know what else to say without incriminating herself. Or if maybe she should do just that. She couldn’t read him beyond the small quirk of his mouth and the relaxing of his muscles. Was there anything else to read?

“Be that as it may, it needed to be said. You risked a lot for me.”

“Danse, you’ve easily saved my life twice as much as I’ve saved yours.”

“I wouldn’t have to if you would just wear your Power Armor.”

“Don’t pretend you don’t prefer me out of it.” The quip was unthinking and suggestive, easy from her lips until she noticed what she’d said. Kate raised her head. That wasn’t the kind of relationship they had. Danse wasn’t looking at her. “I’m sorry, that was –”

“I –” He turned his head away slightly, his ears suspiciously red. “I would prefer you armored.” The statement was absolute; his voice was less so. She didn’t know what to say. Preston saved them.

“General, Sturges is heading back to Sanctuary and wants to know if he should take the kid?”

“I … no, I’ll take him myself. I should talk to him. Thanks, Preston.” She didn’t miss the questioning way Preston glanced back and forth between them.

 

When wandering the Wasteland, it was easy to forget that the title of General came with responsibilities. Kate knew the Castle and network surrounding it worked well enough without her – Preston and Ronnie Shaw made sure of that. She also knew they still found plenty to do for her when she was around. So it was easy to ignore that Danse was notably absent for the rest of the day. Had she overstepped? One thoughtless comment should have been easy to laugh off. Unless … But what was needed right now was the General of the Minutemen. She could go back to being just Kate later.

 

Danse finally found her in her quarters in the evening, sitting cross legged on the bed with Shaun beside her listening intently. She looked up from the book she’d been reading when he cleared his throat, smile coming easily at the awkward picture he presented. A man this bulky was hard to make smaller, even if he tried. He turned his gaze on Shaun.

“If I could talk with … your mother in private, child …” He sounded completely out of his depth. She suppressed a laugh.

“Go get some dinner, sweetie. Preston showed you the way, right?” It was so easy to slip into, what Nate had used to call her “mommy voice”, she had done it almost unconsciously. Shaun uncurled himself and hopped off the bed, leaving them alone in the room. Danse’s stance was that of a soldier. She was unsure whether it was habit or deliberate.

“Kate, about earlier…” He seemed so uncomfortable with the topic that she couldn’t help but sigh.

“I shouldn’t have said it. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. I know you didn’t mean –” He shook his head, a frown turning his features dark.

“That’s not what I – when you said … you said you felt the same way. Did you mean … Kate, are you in love with me?” His voice sounded ... hopeful? Terrified? She couldn’t quite tell. She stood, movement slow and deliberate.

“Danse, whatever my feelings, it doesn’t change anything between us. I hope you know that.”

“Are you?”

“Yes,” admitting it was a little like defeat. It had been so much easier with Nate, maybe because then it hadn’t been real. Maybe because her heart hadn’t actually been on the line back then.

“I … I admit I’m a little … how could you be in love with a machine? After everything?” The way he said it … the disbelief, the disconnect, it made her heart ache for him. A few quick steps took her across the room, into his personal space.

“Is that really what you’re worried about?”

“Kate –”

“Because I’ve seen you bleed. I’ve felt your heartbeat. I’ve seen you compassionate and worried and angry and wonderfully curious about a world that was so much worse than you imagine. As far as I’m concerned you are no more machine than I am.”

“I –”

“Whatever you think changed, it hasn’t. You’re still you. And I … I really care about you.”

“I don’t even know what to say. I … look, I’m not going to lie to you. You’re going to have to be patient with me. But if this is truly what you want … I think we could …” She swallowed at the look in his eyes, full of untampered wonder and heat. He smiled, cautiously and she couldn’t help but return it with a bright one of her own. She hadn’t felt like this in so long, maybe ever. His eyes slipped to her lips but he didn’t make a move, hands held firmly behind his back. She couldn’t help but ask.

“Do you want to kiss me?”

“What?” His reaction was startled, maybe a little guilty.

“Honey, you were staring at my lips.”

“Can I?” A memory of Nate came unbidden, of being pushed against a wall and kissed, of surprise turning into passion. This was … different. She leaned forward, twining her arms around his neck. The difference in height meant she had to stand on her tiptoes. This, too, was unlike the last time but the last time had stopped mattering a while ago.

“Please do,” she murmured and closed the distance between them. The kiss was short, hesitant but when she drew away Danse’s hands found their way to her waist and he pulled her back in. There was no hesitation after that. It wasn’t the best kiss she’d ever had but the way his lips moved against hers was intoxicating. The way he practically crushed her against him was even more so. When they finally broke apart she was breathless. She rested her head against his chest, too much effort to stay on her tiptoes any longer.

“That was …” Danse trailed off but the words were more than enough. She hummed in agreement, smiling. His arms tightened around her. “Kate, when I said … you will have to give me time to figure out how to deal with these feelings.” She looked up, drew him down for another chaste kiss, hand at the nape of his neck.

“Take all the time you need. I’ll be right here.” 

 

 

 


End file.
